August 18, 2010

Dearest family in the whole wide world,

Today is Elder Gómez´s birthday, so, to celebrate, we went to El Escorial, a huge palace that Elder Moreno and I and the Hermanas had visited just 3 weeks earlier. But as it was his birthday we let him choose and there were no complaints. It is a beautiful palace and the cathedral at the end is outstanding. It is beautiful in its peculiar form. I took a few pictures, so you can be expecting those in the future. Speaking of pictures, I hope that you are looking in the mail because the package should be arriving in a couple of days, hopefully Friday, with the following items: pictures cd, two letters (one to Callie and one to Timpview), and the driving permit. I hope that you enjoy the pictures as it is all you can see of me.

The reason for the subject heading as it is, is because while I was thinking of what to write that might be able to summarize the efforts of the week, I felt that that fits it perfectly. The past couple of weeks have been trying weeks for Elder Gomez and me. Not extremely hard, just that the results searched for were not found. However, this past week has been one of the best weeks of my entire mission and these past 2 days have been absolutely outstanding.

Finally the outward success, apart from the feelings of joy and peace from hard work and diligence, that missionaries always seek for surely surrounds us now. We do have some much more joy from the work as we see the fruits of our labors. I find myself getting less tired and many times just smiling because I am happy what I am doing. I realize that the joy that we receive as missionaries is a joy that is achieved bit by bit, here a little there a little. As we struggle and work hard week after week, that joy descends upon us and we find ourselves happy and motivated by a new energy that only comes from the knowledge that Heavenly Father is pleased with what we are doing. I love being happy, that is my purpose in life, and the only way to do it is to struggle, obey, strive to do what is right, and the promised blessing always come.

We have started teaching many new investigators and we hope that with the little time that we have now to talk to people in the street, that we can be diligent and focused at always searching for the pure in heart. I count it an extreme blessing to be able to serve with Élder Gomez because he has special gifts that make the work more satisfying and successful. He truly has a love for the Lord, Jesus Christ, and that special love is manifested every time he talks to someone. He has a smile that is so inviting and loving that everyone who sees him feels comfortable and special. He actually has a voice that is very tender and sounds exactly like some of the Spanish recordings for church materials. It is really cool and the people like it too.

Well, what else do you want to know...Oh yeah, here is something really interesting. Two weeks ago we started English classes to find more people to teach, and the first class that we had only 1 person showed up, a member. We decided to mix a few things up and instead of teach English to the member, we decided to let her teach us French. So much fun. I couldn´t keep a straight face and after it was done left the church just laughing my head off. Elder Gomez and I kept practicing the few phrases that we learned and try to do it with the voice of a very serious, educated French man, and it just cracks us up. For us, French is the language of love for life.

I was glad to hear about your trip to Washington and all of the little adventures that entailed. I hope that all goes well with your decision making and realize that parents, and especially fathers have the right to receive this type of revelation for their families. From what I have heard, the complexities of this decision seem to be many. It is a good thing that we do not have to make this decision. The Lord, if we our worthy and ask Him with faith, must respond and tell us what to do. That´s better anyway! He, who is all knowing and all powerful, can make the decision. When we have the faith to hand our lives over to the Lord, things just work out, many times in the strangest ways, never even thought of. But they always work out for our eternal good. So all that I say to you, Mom and Dad, is that, do what you have already mentioned that you were going to do and I will support your decision, which in reality will be the Lord´s decision for the Driggs family at this time. I have a testimony that he can let us know perfectly what we need to do in every moment of our lives.


I love you all and desire that all our happy. I trust all of you a lot and hope that you are doing well. Don´t let me down, as I am trying to do the same. The Lord truly expects much from us, as He has given us so much.

I love you and pray for you,

Élder Driggs